The Big Gender Reveal

I can’t remember the last time I anticipated an event like I did with our 2nd trimester anatomy ultrasound!

I was going to find out if my baby was a girl or boy!  It seemed so crazy to me that I was going to know this information, and it was one step closer to making this whole baby “thing” seem more real!

18 weeks (and a few days)…this was the day of the ultrasound! 

The weeks leading up to Wednesday were the longest I can remember.  This was like right up there with my wedding day.  I didn’t even think I’d be able to sleep the night before…it felt like the biggest Christmas Eve of my life!!

My appointment was at 10:30am, but there was no way I was going into work beforehand…it would have been pointless.  Not like I’d be able to concentrate. 

The drive there, checking in at the hospital, waiting to register, then waiting in the ultrasound waiting room, then even waiting through the beginning of the ultrasound!!

WAITING!! 

Our ultrasound tech was a really nice woman and she asked if we wanted to know the gender, then got started.  First she started by looking at some of my anatomy, then the baby starting with the head and working her way down to make sure everything was there and measuring ok! 

Then we got to the goods.  I knew from seeing pictures of ultrasounds on BabyCenter that we were looking at that area, and I was trying to figure out if I could see anything before she said it.

Then she says: “see those 3 little lines, that usually means its a girl, but let me look around a little more to be sure”

2 seconds later

“yup, that’s definitely a girl!”

A girl??? A GIRL!!!!!  I didn’t freak out or anything, but as she continued with the ultrasound I was just kind of sitting there with a huge smile on my face trying to absorb that she just said I’m having a GIRL!!!!

So many people asked me ahead of time whether I had a “feeling” for what it was, and honestly I had no idea.  I never got that “feeling” you all speak of.  Never had any dreams of one gender.  Nothing. 

I did notice that Brian and I both would sometimes refer to the baby as “he” or “him”.  So I guess a little part of me, if I had to pick, would have thought it was a boy. 

Being a girly girl myself, I think I always pictured myself with a daughter, although once I was actually pregnant I was getting excited at the thought of either a boy or girl. 

But I’m SO EXCITED NOW!!!!!

It all just feels so much more real now!!  All my family is pretty excited for a new little girl too!! 

Now I can start shopping, and thinking of nursery ideas, and NAMES!  Oh man, I have a feeling a name is going to be the hardest thing for me.

And no I’m not sharing until she’s born ;) 

Mom and I had a blast on Black Friday looking at all the cute baby girl clothes :)  But I was good and only bought one thing.

It was on sale!

says “love to shop” very fitting if you ask me.   

And there SHE is

She’s kind of smiling in that picture!  It’s still so weird to officially refer to her as a HER! 

Oh and everything else looked great!  10 fingers and toes.  We saw all 4 chambers of the heart…so cool!  Even saw her stomach which was full!  So she’s already a good eater :) 

Other than that the long weekend consisted of family time at Thanksgiving, shopping time with mom on Friday, family time with Brian’s family on Saturday and some delicious food today.

Almond-Coconut pancakes for breakfast

Mmmm cappuccino.  So happy my love of coffee returned!  Still I don’t have one everyday. 

Stuffed pork chops for dinner

One of my favorite Giada recipes…  Pork Chops stuffed with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Spinach.  Mmmm and goat cheese ;)

I also made a batch of quinoa salad to have for lunches with some grilled chicken.  This was basically:

• quinoa cooked in chicken broth
• chopped: red pepper, cucumber, red onion, celery
• chick peas
• spinach (baby spinach rough chopped)
• Feta!
• dressing of:  olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic

Mix all together.  Add chopped grilled chicken.

In summary:

Hope you had a great weekend.

It’s a girl!!!

Let the fun begin!!

End of the Week and Year!

Hey friends!  I’m in a great mood today :)  It’s Friday AND I made the executive decision to not work today.  It was kind of a slow week, lots of people on vacation, and I thought it would just be wonderful to have a day to get stuff done around here.

Now in true Bridget fashion, I’ll never finish my to-do list but that’s ok!  I slept until 7:30am, which felt awesome (side note: it’s kind of sad that 7:30am is considered sleeping in…on a weekday anyways). 

Took the pup out and made a nice bowl of oatmeal.  I’m a very weather-influenced eater and I’ve only made stove-top oats a handful of times since the weather has gotten colder around here.

Also used my new “b” mug from Anthropologie for my cappuccino!

Oats: oatmeal, water, milk, strawberries, brown sugar, coconut, PB, a few pecans, and a little berry preserves.  I forgot how good oatmeal with lots of toppings is! 

Workouts

I went to Crossfit Tuesday night.  The Workout of the Day (WOD) was:

10 to 1: Deadlifts, Burpees, and Abmat sit-ups.  So, 10 of each, 9 of each, 8 of each…etc.  I did 75lb for deadlifts and my time was 8:28 (I think…around there).

Before the WOD we worked up to our heaviest set of 2 deadlifts.  I PR’d at 120lb. 

I still feel very new to Crossfit, and I’m so so nervous about pushing myself too hard.  I probably could have gone further than 120lb but right now it’s just not that important to me…I know I’m getting stronger and don’t care how long it takes :)  I just know I love these workouts!! 

I had planned to go last night, but ended up working a little later after I decided to take today off.  I’ve been doing Crossfit for almost a full month now, averaging 2-3 times a week.  I started with a 10-class pack which will be used up after tomorrow, so I think I’ll sign up for 3 months unlimited and see how that goes :)

I’m also nervous about tomorrow’s workout!  My Crossfit gym (or box I should say) just moved to a bigger location today and tomorrow is the first workout in the new location!  They never post the workouts ahead of time so people can’t pick and choose, but the new address number is 300 and there was a hint that the workout would be related to that!!

I googled “Crossfit 300” and this is what I found:

Pull-ups – 25 reps
Deadlifts with 135 lbs – 50 reps
Pushups – 50 reps
24-inch Box jumps – 50 reps
Floor wipers – 50 reps
Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 36-lbs Kettlebell – 50 reps
Pull-ups – 25 reps

My weight for the deadlifts and kettlebells will be lighters but STILL!  I think I like NOT knowing what the workout is ahead of time!!  Happy NYE to me…I’ll let you know how it goes.

The other reason I was OK with missing Crossfit last night was dinner!  Seriously, every time I DO use the Crockpot I wonder why I don’t use it more often!!

I prepped this
Cooking Light recipe for Slow Cooker Char Sui Pork Roast

on Wednesday night, let it marinated in the bowl of the crock pot overnight, then turned it on Low before leaving for work yesterday.

My favorite slow cooker recipes are the ones where you just add in all the ingredients…no pre-cooking anything!

Shred the pork with 2 forks.

Cook down the sauce

Serve with rice, broccoli and spinach!

I added extra hoisin sauce to my bowl

LOVED the flavors here!!  I’ve actually never cooked with Chinese 5 Spice powder before, but it’s delicious!

The only change I’d make next time is to leave out the chicken broth.  It diluted the sauce a bit too much and didn’t really thicken up.  That’s why I had to transfer it to a sauce pan and cook down for a while.

I think this would also be delicious with chicken, beef, or use a leaner cut of pork like a tenderloin.  We trimmed as much fat off as possible but it was hard to get enough of it. 

Well it’s time to take the pooch for a walk, get some more done around here and then get ready for a fun night out!!  Well not too much fun…Crossfit tomorrow morning AND then it’s New Years Eve!! 

What are you doing for NYE??  I wish I was going OUT out…like dancing out, but just wasn’t happening this year I guess.  Still really excited for a dinner out with a group of friends and then back to party at a friend’s condo!

Homemade Pork Pot Stickers

Well the long holiday weekend is over, and it was back to work for me and I’m sure most of you!  I was lucky enough to be able to do some field work this morning (i.e. I was outside and it was GORGEOUS out today!), so my first day back was alright ;)

I recently received a few coupons to try out some Nasoya products!  I cashed in this weekend, and was most excited to try out the wonton wrappers!

Wonton wrappers are one of those products I’ve seen on countless blogs and it seems the possibilities for them are endless.  However, I wanted to start simple and decided to try my hand at some homemade pot stickers!

I remembered seeing Elina’s video a while back and it seemed pretty simple. 

I browsed a few recipes and ultimately combined them to make my own version using ground pork (I tend to steer clear of poultry the days following Thanksgiving weekend…turkey overload).

Pork Pot Stickers
Adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/2 lb lean ground pork
• 1 cup finely chopped Napa cabbage
• 1 cup finely chopped Bok Choy
• 1 T low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp fresh peeled, minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup diced shitake mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions
• 24 wonton wrappers (such as Nasoya)
• 2 tsp canola oil, divided
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• Dipping Sauce of choice! (such as Trader Joe’s Gyozo sauce)

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-med/high heat, spray with canola oil cooking spray, add pork and cook for 3-4 min until meat is mostly cooked.  Then add garlic, ginger, and mushrooms, and continue cooking 2-3 min more.
2. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, cabbage, and bok choy.  Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cabbage and bok choy begins to wilt.
3. Add lemon zest and scallions, cook for another 2 min.  Turn off heat, and set aside.
4. Now you’ll want to prepare a “wrapping station”: get your wonton wrappers ready, have a small bowl of water for dipping your fingers, and have your filling nearby.  Wash your hands!
5. Take 1 wonton, spoon a small amount of filling (just under a Tbsp), and place it in the center of your wonton wrapper.  Wet your fingers in the water, and rub water around all 4 edges of your wrapper.
6. Bring corners of wonton wrapper together and press the edges to seal in the filling.  You create a triangle shaped pot sticker.  Transfer to a platter and continue until all the filling is used up.
7. At this point you can re-use your pan and just wipe it down with a paper towel.
8. Heat the pan at med heat and add 1 tsp canola oil.  Add 12 of your pot stickers to the pan seam side up, and cook for 1-2 min until the bottoms start to brown.  Then add 1 cup broth, cover, and cook for 4-5 min or until wonton skins look softened and cooked.
9. Repeat step 8 with remaining pot stickers, pouring out excess broth after the first batch. 
10. Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce!

These were AWESOME!!  Loved the filling even on it’s own! The hint of lemon was so delicious.

Notes:

• I shredded my cabbage and bok choy in the food processor.
• I also chopped up extras of all my veggie ingredients to make a lo Mein to go with the meal!  I used Lizzy’s recipe as a a guide, minus the shrimp, and just using the veggies I had chopped up plus some broccoli and broccoli slaw.  I used the Nasoya Chinese noodles for the lo mien. 

Veggie Lo Mein actions

The pot stickers were really the star of the meal!   

Next time I’m making a huge batch a head of time, having a wonton-filling assembly line with help from Brian and just keep these babies in the freezer.  If you want to freeze them, fill them, seal them, then freeze them on a cookie sheet first then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container.

Now on a random note I HAVE to share a new purchase with you.

So I realize this isn’t exactly a “share worthy” outfit, but the item I wanted to show you was my fun new leggings!!

They are from Nordstrom (hosiery dept), Navy blue with a fun Nordic print on the lower leg!  They also come in grey.  I love them.